. welcome to al jazeera america, i'm richelle carey. here are the stories we are following for you. john kerry talks to egyptian leaders and a new plan for peace in syria is emerging. >> it was an ambush, we see it as an ambush. >> pakistani leaders blame the u.s. for sabotaging peace talks after a taliban leader was killed in a drone strike. >> a ceasefire in the congo after 16 brutal years of war - but how long will it last? .

secretary of state john kerry is in the middle east. his 9-day tour kicks off in israel, jordan and saudi arabia. first a meeting in egypt, a major step towards starting peace talks designed to stop a civil war in syria. >> sue turton has the latest from cairo. >> it's merging that the discussions with nabil fahmy, the egyptian foreign minister, and john kerry, included a situation in regards to syria. we are hearing out of the arab league there was an emergency meeting of foreign minister resist this evening, egyptian time. the egyptian foreign minister will present a vision, initiative that the u.s. and egyptians discussed. if initiative is regarding the geneva ii convention - we know

that they are trying to get all parties around the table later on in november, to try to come to some sort of political diplomatic halt to the violence that is going on in syria. apparently they have come up with a plan, a vision. this vision will be presented to all of the various foreign ministers later on this evening. we are watching whether that's received and whether it's an idea that may move matters forward. >> john kerry's visit marks the first by an american official since the ousting of mohamed morsi in july. he urged egypt to move ahead with democratic reforms, stressing that u.s. ties with the country are vital. >> the u.s.-egypt relationship should not be defined by assistance. there are bigger issues that matter to us, that concern u that define the relationship. >> al jazeera's rosalind jordan joins us from washington.

rosalind, the push for a democracy from the u.s. how does the u.s. reconcile a push for democracy whilst supporting the military-backed government responsible for the ousting of mohamed morsi? . >> it's a pragmatic reconciliation. it comes down to a couple of things - the peace treaty between u.s. and israel. the u.s. relies on their ability to deal with hamas and insurgent groups in the sinai in the peninsula. it's against u.s. interests to walk away from whatever is happening in cairo. the idea that because egypt had an amount of influence in the region, the u.s. wants to see the country move past the long-running political crisis and re-establish come

democratically elected government. the u.s. is using leverage in doing so. it's worth noting that because john kerry has gone to cairo to deliver the messages, that the u.s. is stepping up pressure on the interim government to get on with it. let's talk more about the visit, the visit that nobody knew about until he actually landed, which is unusual, considering the relationship the two countries had in the past. it makes you think of dangerous places like iraq and afghanistan. what does this say? what should we read into that? >> the situation on the ground has been considered unstable. there has been a number of human rights abuses that the u.s. government does not like. crackdown on the burgeoning free press. crackdown on political opponents of the regime, including the

muslim brotherhood, in which mohamed morsi was a keen leader. by not announcing this visit ahead of time, washington was sending a message to cairo that it does not approve of how things were going in the past five months. this idea that by going in, spending hours on the ground and preparing to move on to the announced part of the trip, the u.s. is making it clear to americans - think twice before you go to egypt. the situation is volatile on any number of fronts. americans may not want to find themselves in the middle of that situation. >> rosalind jordan life in washington. >> pakistan's government is reviewing its relationship with the united states after the kitting of a taliban leader in a drone strike. the political party control north-west pakistan says it will block american supply routes. the taliban wants revenge.

>> that man says he shouldn't have come to work, but he can't afford to say home. he fears represal attacks after the u.s. killed its leader hakimullah mehsud in an unmanned aerial drone strike. >> translation: people have stopped coming to market. we are afraid that the taliban will aattack us. i don't know what to do. >> the market in peshawar has been attacked several times by the taliban. last month his uncle was killed in a bombingment across pakistan, security is on high alert after the pakistan taliban threatened to avenge hakimullah mehsud's death, saying every drop of blood will be turned into a suicide bomber. despite the fear, there is

anger. interior minister khan blamed the u.s. for destroying the peace process with the pakistan taliban. >> the efforts were ambushed. it was not acquired from the front. it was an ambush. we see it as an ambush. >> but other political parties want more than angry words with washington. imran khan's south party provides a northern province, and has taliban strongholds in the tribal areas. he's demanding nato supply routes be closed. >> translation: i will raise the issue monday in the national assembly. the nato supply line should be blocked. we will not allow nato supply lines until they stop the drone attacks. >> many people in the pakistani government, military and intelligence agencies are

pleased with hakimullah mehsud's death. during his time as leader he was responsible for carrying out several main attacks costing thousands of lives, but he was open to peace talks with the government, and that is threatened as the taliban threatens to avenge his death. >> a 2-year rebellion in the democratic republic of congo could be coming to an end after the m23 group called for a ceasefire. it began after a series of mewettinees north and south kibal. they were supposed to be part of the national army under a peace deal signed on march 23rd 2009. which is how the group got their name. >> they gained attention because it was supported by rwanda, which they have denied.

troops found mass graves close to the boarder. malcolm webb has this exclusive report. we'll warn you some images are disturbing. >> this patch of bush next to a former m23 rebel base looks like any other in eastern congo. something more sinister lies within. the soldier leads us to the body of a man lying in a shallow grave. clearly he died recently, but the smell is very unpleasant and it looks like he was tied up with his arms behind his back and legs together at the moment he died. there's blood coming from his head. it looks like he was executed. >> nearby soldiers in the villages say there were four more bodies visible in the hole until heavy rain buried them in mud. there was more throughout the bush. it's next to a barracks that the webb else took from the government over a year ago.

the rebels fled a few days ago and the army moved in. the m23 executed prisoners before it left. we tried to contact m23, but they hadn't answered phone calls since government forces fought them back in the last 10 days. people in the vil ages around the base said living under m23 rules was tough. >> translation: they had prisoners, we heard they killed them all. >> translation: they'd beat people for nothing, arrest people and make them disappear. >> the world's largest peace forces have been helping the government fight the m23. the rebels haven't stopped atrocities. >> the government says it will find out what happened. >> translation: we know that bodies have been found in the

area, the area controlled by m23 for a year, and has been taken by the army a few days ago. on the u.n. side we are forming a team which will investigate. and from the results we'll tell you what was discovered. >> the government is investigating two. war crimes are common. the full story may never be uncovered. >> in northern yemen 58 people died in violent clashes between shia and sunni muslim groups. it began in the damaj province. fighting cast a shadow over reconciliation process. >> the leaders of serbia and kosovo are coming together hoping to bridge ethnic divisions during an election. not everyone is on board with the idea. >> for the people of kosovo,

casting a ballot represents more than determining a winner. it's the first time polls covering the territory of kosovo has been organised by the government. serbia backed the vote, hoping it will smoth their path to the i -- smooth their path to the e.u. membership. in the southern part of the city, an influx of people entered a polling station to vote on who would be the next mayor. >> translation: these elections are important for kosovo. europe is asking for democratic elections. it's a plus they are being held in the north. >> translation: we are talking about local elections. we need more young people, especially in the municipal assembly. it's important for our voices to be heard. >> a short work over the bridge to the north. the picture is different. map there refuse to vote

despite -- many there refuse to vote. thee feel that these are not their elections. empty ballot boxes and electoral commission officials keen to avoid the cameras. this is typical of northern kosovo, where serbs are the majority. insults are thrown at those who decide to vote. >> translation: we are boycotting the elections because kosovo is organise them. they are not recognising them. this is a way of incorporating us into albania. >> officers have been deployed, many concentrated in the volatile north. >> we have around 460 police officers working two 12-hour shifts, covering working centres. so far we haven't recorded a possible incident. nor have we recorded an incident

that may endanger general security situation in the north of kosovo. >> success of the elections will determine the next step into the process. the boycott by the serbs in the north could be a major obstacle on that road. >> murder charges have been laid against paul ciancia, the man that opened fire in the los angeles international airport. new detail emerged about the shooting leaving one t.s.a. dead and other wounded. the shooter was clearly intent on taking out his rage on t.s.a. agents. investigators found a note he allegedly wrote saying he intended to target t.s.a. screeners. next - an update on our top story and saying goodbye to an american hero, a true pioneer.

story and saying goodbye to a

welcome back to al jazeera america. here is a look at your top stories. . major developments on syria coming out of a meeting between secretary of state john kerry and egyptian officials. the leaders came up with an initiative on the crisis in syria for the geneva ii conference. it will be given to the arab foreign minister later today. >> fact stan is ree -- pack stan is re-evaluating its relationship with the united states after a drone strike killed a top taliban official. >> and charges laid against paul ciancia, for the shooting rampage at los angeles international airport. >> two kenyans won the women's and men's races. this year's race is under tightened security. >> kilmeny duchardt spoke with one runner. >> 48,000 runners are expected

to cross the finish line. the new york city marathon is under two unique circumstances - last year it was cancelled in the wake of superstorm sandy, and this year there's added security measures because of boston. but one runner that we caught up with has been training for the new york city marathon for four years, and was a first responder to sandy victims, he caught up with him. he said the added security measures make him feel safe. >> certainly feel safer with the added security. i have family watching near the finish line. that was a thought i had, do i want to subject them to that. the n.y.p.d. have them under control. it took a lot longer to get in here - i'm okay with that. security is supertight. they are not leaving anything to chance. >> the ny pd ramped up security effort.

police commissioner ray kelly says this year's security is expected to be tight, adding 1400 security cameras in addition to the 6,000 security cameras civilinging throughout the -- sur veiling throughout the city. there'll be dogs at the finish line, helicopters monitoring from the air, and boats in the harbour to ensure that the runners are safe crossing the bridges. all of this is put in place to make sure another boston doesn't happen. >> and if you are heading out today we have colder air in place over the north-east. what a difference a day makes as a cold fronts moves through, allowing a cold push of air to pour down. temperatures only in the 40s across the north-east. we have cold air in place,

across the northern border of the u.s. to where we have a winter storm system. it's putting down rain showers and snow. our nation in this section - mainly rain free. the only exception is here into parts of southern texas, that's where we are getting an influence from the storm. it's moving into parts of western and south texas, hoping to fuel some of the shower activity. sonya is a tropical storm. it's bringing in added moisture so showers will spread into areas of oklahoma. dallas - it looks like you'll stay dry. windadvise ris are posted through the dakotas, winds gusting 40 to 50 miles per hour. a day to hang on to your hats.

winds gusting. kansas city - winds gusting up to 32 miles per hour. into the north-east, it will be blustery and staying on the cool side. temperatures getting chose to 50 degrees. not much warmer but there's a wind blow - winds from the south and south-east. in minnesota a warmer day expected for you. we made it out of the 40s. today 53. 52 in chicago. 70 degrees in houston, we'll find low 80s into parts of south texas and the border. >> one of america's first seven astronauts scott carpenter was buried saturday. he's being remembered as an explorer travelling above the atmosphere and below the ocean's surface. jim huli has more. >> scott carpenter was a nasa elite.

chose in 1959 as an original astronaut to join the space flight program and the space race against the soviets. >> they are the first rock stars. >> it was the cold war. the american program was struggling. scott carpenter and his colleagues were determined to win. >> it was a special time in u.s. history. obviously, you know, proud of dad for being selected. >> candy carpenter was five when her father climbed that a capsule and soared into space. >> i remember a lot of press, a lot of cameras wherever we went. they are always handling it with great humility. >> carpenter was at the nasa microphone in 1972 giving this send off to his friend john glenn on his first orbital flight. >> god speed, john glenn. the navy aviator would be next,

in may that year. the mercury astronauts represented a time. scott carpenter named his cap tulle "aurora 7" after a street where he grew up. scott carpenter used his scientific knowledge in a different way - conducting research at the bottom of the ocean. scott carpenter spent 28 days living at the bottom of the pacific in sea lab. >> i think it was 300m below the surface, off the coast of california, in a lab designed to test how long human being could live under water. he's the only person i know that is an astronaut and a certified aquanaut. >> as friends, family and present astronauts say goodbye, scott carpenter will find his

final resting place on earth. >> what a magnificent long life he had, a life of adventure and inquiry. he'll be greatly missed and greatly valued for decades to come. >> scott carpenter was 88 years old. >> still ahead on al jazeera america - growing older and working longer. the trials of seniors in south korea.

south korea - it is the fastest ageing country in the world. the number of elderly people seeking jobs in the capital has doubled in the past 10 years. in the second of a 3-part series on the world of senior citizens, harry fawcett reports from seoul. >> she may not look it but this woman is 62. 15 years after closing her own

cafe she decided to come back to work. as well as earning her money, it's a change from grandchild duty. >> translation: it keeps me feeling young. i meet people and make money. as long as i can, i want to work. >> she is not alone. a job fair in seoul is packed with senior citizens looking for work - each with their own reasons. >> translation: i'm in good shape. do i look like someone over 70? >> >> translation: my son got married. i have a draurnal. i need a job to save face. >> south korea is ageing fasters than any other country. over 65s make up 27%. the government is encouraging employees to employ higher workers. >> the government provide half

the salary for the internship and $600 for the first six months >> south korea has poor lefrls of health care for the elderly leaving those at the bottom looking to scratch a living. you see them around seoul. figures pushing carts labelled with junk. this woman is 78. she does it every day, followed by her mentally disabled daughter, bringing her haul to this recycling yard. on a good day she makes $6. >> my other daughters told me to send her to an institution and i'll live comfortably. i don't do that. now they don't call. they can't bear her for a day. >> as its population gets older

improving the provision is going to get harder. more are destined to work, whether they like it or not. in part 3 of the series we'll tell you about blue zones, home to the healthiest and longest living people. we explain on monday, here on al jazeera. >> honda is recalling 400,000 m minivans in the u.s. software problems could lead to braking in the odyssey fans. a replacement will not be available until next year. in the meantime it will mail safety instructions to owners. be on the lookout for that. thank you for watching aljazeera.com. i'm richelle carey. for more information check out the website aljazeera.com.

they stare silently - suspended in limbo between the living and the dead. these patients are the infected - victims of a contagion so lethal it kills almost one and a half million people globally every year, and infects a further nine million. despite an arsenal of drugs, tu